1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to multimedia telecommunications and more particularly to a method and system for communicating multimedia content in a unicast, multicast or broadcast environment.
2. Background Information
The current radio broadcast industry primarily depends upon broadcast towers to transmit signals to radios. According to FCC regulations, the frequency and amplitude of these broadcasts are strictly regulated such that different radio stations broadcast in different geographic regions, and the number of stations per region is governed through FCC licenses. Although radio broadcast can, at times, effectively transmit content to large audiences in a geographic region, and such a system may be accessed with ubiquitous devices and without incurring user subscription fees, such a system has various problems.
For example, the broadcasts are bound to moderately sized geographic regions, and the number of independent broadcasts is restricted by the licensed frequency spectrum. Thus, for AM and FM radio broadcasts, a traveler outside a given region cannot listen to broadcasts from that region (e.g., someone in New York City cannot listen in real time to a Los Angeles FM broadcast, except for syndicated programs). In addition, the broadcasts, do not provide coverage to very small regions (i.e., a broadcast that covers only a particular stretch of road).
Also, the number of independent stations in a given region is restricted to a relatively small number as current RF technology and licensed spectrum do not permit thousands of AM/FM radio stations per region. Moreover, the cost of broadcast to a region large enough to attract substantial advertising revenue is high, so that small specialized radio stations are often not able to attract sufficient revenues to invest in larger area broadcasts, and the larger radio stations often have to broadcast programs that have wide appeal. Further, current radio broadcast systems do not allow an individual listener to customize their listening experience so that a particular archived program can be listened to at the listener""s convenience, and so that the listener can program a playlist that determines when and which broadcasts are heard by the listener.
Recently, radio stations have used the internet to broadcast programs via a multicast or unicast. These programs may be archived and presented on-demand or may be real-time continuously present programs. Some radio programs are broadcast through the internet and RF signals, some only through RF signals, and some only through the internet. Various devices have the capability of receiving radio broadcasts via cellular networks, including wired PCs as well as wireless devices such as cellular telephones and other handheld devices.
Unicasts, multicasts and broadcasts each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Nevertheless, current telecommunication systems do not enable a user to automatically join or seamlessly switch between communication modes based on the user""s content request and/or profile.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a system and method in which users may join a communication mode such that the multimedia content received by the user is closely matched to a predefined profile. The content may be transmitted by unicast, multicast (or simulcast) or radio broadcast. Moreover, depending on an individual""s request(s) and that of other users in a network, a user may switch between a radio broadcast, multicast and unicast to meet the user""s preferences based on a profile. Profile data may include content type, transmission quality, cost considerations, etc. The two-way nature of the system and method also enable a user to request and receive information and complete transactions.